"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and
I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle
and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy
and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
In our fast-paced world it is the
need of every person to find a way to rest.
Schedules seldom allow this unless we are careful to set aside the
time. But even then our disquieted souls
seem to keep us from finding rest.
I will experience rest for my soul as I obey Jesus’ command
of…
1. Come to Me
The search to satisfy our needs
following our own leads down many empty roads.
The tiresome search for of the soul, coming up empty is what Jesus is speaking
to. He has a gift to give…”I will give you rest”
- Rest for those who labor
The Greek word
for labor means to work to the point of exhaustion. It is to be out of self energy; out of self
effort.
He is not just
speaking to the manual laborer, but to sincere, conscientious people who are
trying to balance the scales of good deeds vs. bad deeds to be accepted by
God. They are weary of failure and
frustrated by their own weakness..
- Rest for those who are
burdened
The Greek word
for burdened speaks of a load too heavy to carry. These stagger under the heavy weight and
burden of sin. They are sorrowful for
their failure and burdened by their grief.
The place to come in such a
condition is to Jesus who will deal with our sin.
I will experience rest for my soul as I also obey Jesus’
command of…
2. Take My Yoke Upon You
The yoke is a type of harness that
connects a pair of oxen. It is made for two, not one. In NT times the phrase, “to take the yoke of”
was used by rabbi’s to refer to “becoming a submitted pupil of a teacher”
In the New Testament, the word has
two dominant figurative ideas.
- The yoke of rules and religion. MANS YOKE
It is considered
the rules and religious system to be accepted by God. This is the way most
people are familiar with the idea of relating to God – through rules and
religion. This is not the “my yoke” that Jesus speaks of.
- The yoke of relationship. JESUS YOKE
Jesus said that
His yoke is easy “well fitted.” It fits the need. Rules and religion don’t fit
the need for personal relationship. His yoke is easy compared to manmade
religious yokes. His burden is light compared to the burden of human effort.
There is no rest in rules and
religion, but only in a personal relationship with God based on the finished
work of Jesus. Which yoke have you been
under? Jesus’ or man’s? Come to Him and let Him give you rest through faith.
Scripture to
Claim:
My soul, wait in
silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. Psalms 62:5
